


Third Time is the Charm

by purplebass



Category: The Infernal Devices Series - Cassandra Clare, The Last Hours Series - Cassandra Clare, The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types, The Shadowhunter Chronicles - Cassandra Clare
Genre: F/M, Family Feels, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-13
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-03-13 12:00:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29401620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/purplebass/pseuds/purplebass
Summary: A little fanfic about the moment Cecily and Gabriel find out they're going to become parents for the third time.
Relationships: Cecily Herondale/Gabriel Lightwood
Kudos: 12
Collections: Gabrily





	Third Time is the Charm

Cecily put the duvet aside to leave her bed, careful not to wake her sleeping husband. It was early, too early in the morning, but she couldn’t lie down anymore. Her forehead had been pulsing ever since the evening before, and hadn’t let her sleep. It was like an orchestra had been playing in there for hours on end, but off key. She decided to drink hot tea and make a hot bandage to put on her forehead once again, since she also had a runny nose. Perhaps it was the bad December weather which had caused it. Today, instead of wind and rain, though, there was a timid sun that she hoped would be gracing the sky for longer than it had those last few days.

Cecily went in the kitchen, and made herself the hottest tea ever. It was chamomile tea, and it usually smelled good, but it had an acrid taste today. _Even the tea doesn’t want to cooperate_ , she thought, but at least it warmed her cheeks. She put the cup in the sink and went back to her bedroom. She hadn’t prepared yet, and she was still in her robe. The tea had been her priority.

She opened the door, trying not to make noise not to wake Gabriel, only to find him washing his face by the sink. He glanced at her, after hearing her footsteps, and offered her a smile.

“Did I wake you?” Cecily asked, concerned. “I tried to be quiet.”

“I was already awake, Cecy. I have to go somewhere, so I might as well start to get ready.”

“You’re right, we were supposed to go to that meeting today,” she touched her forehead. She had completely forgotten about their engagement. “I might have to tell Anna I can’t go visit her.”

Gabriel got closer to her as he was buttoning his shirt. He eyed her, and she could see that he was thinking. “You don’t seem too well today, Cecy. Are you sure you want to go out? You’ve sniffled a couple of times, last night.”

She shrugged, and shook her head. “I drank something hot earlier, and it’s working,” she said, even though she wasn’t feeling her best yet.

He frowned, and touched her forehead with the back of his hand. Cecily wished it was colder, because she felt warmer. “You don’t have a fever,” he concluded, and his hand checked her cheeks too.

She leaned into his hand, and shut her eyes for a moment, reveling in the sensation. “Am I cleared to go out?”

“Only if you wear a scarf,” he smiled, and then grabbed his jacket from the chair. “We can go together. I could drop you off at Anna’s, then pick you up after the meeting is over.”

On another occasion, she would have declined. Cecily loved to walk, and Anna’s house wasn’t that far from theirs, but she didn’t want to get ill at once. And since she already had a cold and a headache, her symptoms may worsen. So, she agreed.

“I’ll come later when I’m done,” Gabriel said to Cecy when they arrived at Anna’s. “Don’t walk home by yourself.”

“Yes, _papa_ ,” Cecily mocked him, and then kissed him. “It’s not like I’m pregnant or something,” she joked, but the thought crossed her mind. After all, she was a few months late. But no, it couldn’t be. Perhaps the migraine was a sign that her period was coming.

Gabriel rolled his eyes and smirked, then waved at Anna, who had been witnessing the scene from her doorstep.

“You are a sight for sore eyes,” she commented with affection, and she meant it. “I hope you can stay next time, papa.”

“You can count on it,” Gabriel agreed. “Alright, I must go. I’m already late. Anna, dear. Don’t let your mother leave without me,” he warned, and his daughter just nodded. Then he was gone, and Cecily shrugged at Anna, who muttered that her father was endearing. Cecily couldn’t agree more.

“Mama, are you sure you are okay?” Anna asked her over tea after a while. “You look pale.”

They spent less time together after Anna had decided to leave their home to go living on her own. Cecily and her husband Gabriel knew that day would come, and they let her go, if that was what she wished to do. In her heart, Cecily hoped Christopher would leave years later, even if that was a selfish thought. She liked having her children around, even if she had to accept that even Kit wasn’t a kid anymore, and that one day, he would go to start his own life.

Cecily smiled, and sipped the reminder of her tea. “I haven’t slept well last night, my dear,” she quickly replied, and tried to keep her smile even though it was getting harder. Perhaps Anna was right. She was feeling weak, and she had a terrible headache. She touched her forehead. “Ah, I wish there was a rune for migraine like there is for wounds.”

Anna nodded, and winked at her mother when she wasn’t looking. “Someone should create it indeed, mama. I’m sorry, I can’t help.”

Cecily thought she was lucky to have a daughter who always looked out for her, and who also sometimes confided in her. She started thinking about her own late mother, who had left a few months before, and tears welled up in her eyes. She glanced at her tea cup so that Anna wouldn’t see her crying, but she saw she had already drunk its whole contents. She started at the cup for longer than she should have, and sniffled.

She didn’t realize Anna sat down next to her, and put a protective hand on her shoulder. “Mama, do you want more tea?”

“No, Anna. I just need to go to the bathroom,” Cecily said, managing a weak smile. Drinking the tea had helped, but now she felt a little queasy.

She stood up, and Anna watched her with wary eyes, thinking that her mother’s face was a ghostly pallor that wasn’t there five minutes ago. Cecily had always had a fair complexion, but there was something different that day, Anna realized.

“Perhaps you got the flu,” Anna said, as Cecily threw some fresh water on her face. At least it was cold. “Next time, don’t come to my house if you feel like this,” she warned kindly. “You need to rest, since you also said you didn’t have a good night’s sleep.”

Cecily nodded, thinking that she should have probably followed her daughter’s advice. “But I wasn’t feeling this sick this morning.”

“You should take care of yourself, mama.”

“You’re talking as if I’m old,” Cecily protested, and they both chuckled. The water helped a little, at least. “I haven’t turned 40 yet, thank you very much.”

Anna rolled her eyes. “I didn’t mean it like that,” she commented. “You’re beautiful as always, mama. And very much young. Are you positive you don’t need me to call anyone?”

“No, your father will be here in a few, and we’ll go back home.”

“If you say so, I trust you,” she said, and turned to glance at the window. “Look, he’s already here. Let me escort you downstairs.”

Even if Cecily protested, Anna still walked her to her carriage, where Gabriel was waiting.

“Is there something wrong?” he wondered, alarmed, seeing that Cecily was under Anna’s arm, and very much paler than he had seen her that morning.

“No, I’m okay. I think I need to catch up on sleep,” Cecily replied. “I’ll go rest when we go back, don’t nag at me.”

“It’s not nagging,” Anna interjected. “We are concerned for your health.”

Cecily smiled kindly at her daughter, and kissed her cheek before getting in the carriage. “Don’t worry, dear. I assure you I just need to sleep.”

Anna and Gabriel exchanged a look, then they left.

“I think I’m pregnant,” Cecily said when they were finally alone, and halfway home. She turned to her husband, but his expression was unreadable.

“Are you sure?” he asked calmly.

“No, I’m not sure,” she replied, sighing. “I haven’t checked with a silent brother, if that’s what you mean. But I know. I _feel_ it.”

“Our baby?”

Cecily’s mouth curved into a smile. “I don’t think I am far along enough for it to be already formed and all, but I am positive that a life is growing inside of me.”

“Another life,” he said giddily, and laughed. “I can’t believe it.”

“I can’t believe it either,” she chuckled. “Are you happy?”

“Why wouldn’t I be happy?” Gabriel wondered with a grin, as tears started welling up in Cecily’s eyes again. He held her close to his chest and kissed her hair. “I’m ecstatic.”

“I’m nervous,” she confessed.

“Because when you expected Anna you had a complicated pregnancy?”

“Yes,” she muttered, and clutched at his coat.

“Don’t worry. I’m sure everything is going to be alright,” he tried to comfort her. “I love you, Cecy. I love you, baby.”

Cecily cried some more, and then touched her stomach affectionately. “I love you too.”


End file.
